Alexander Löhr
|death_date= |birth_place=Turnu-Severin, Kingdom of Romania |death_place=Belgrade, FPR Yugoslavia |image=Bundesarchiv Bild 183-2008-0915-500, Alexander Löhr.jpg |signature=Alexander Löhr signature.svg |caption=Alexander Löhr in October 1939 |allegiance= (to 1918) First Austrian Republic (to 1938) |branch=Heer Luftwaffe (1938-1945) |serviceyears=1906-1945 |rank= Generaloberst |commands=Luftflotte 4 Heeresgruppe E |unit= |battles=World War I World War II |awards=''Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves'' }} Alexander Löhr (20 May 1885 – 26 February 1947) was an Austrian Air Force (Österreichische Luftstreitkräfte) commander during the 1930s and, after the "Political Union of Germany and Austria" (Anschluss), he was a German Air Force (Luftwaffe) commander. Löhr served in the Luftwaffe during the Second World War. Löhr was one of three former Austrians who rose to the rank of Generaloberst (Colonel General) within the German Wehrmacht. The other two were Erhard Raus and Lothar Rendulic. Early years Löhr was born in Turnu-Severin, Kingdom of Romania to the family of a naval captain from Mainz and a nurse of Russian descent. His parents raised him in the Greek Uniate faith http://www.deutsche-biographie.de/sfz53750.html. Early career Löhr served as Platoon Commander of a Pioneer battalion in the 85th Infantry Regiment of the Austro-Hungarian army in World War I. By 1921 Löhr had reached the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel (Oberstleutnant). Between 1921 and 1934 he held many staff positions in the military, including Director of the Air Force in the Federal Armies Ministry. In 1934, he was made Commander of the small Austrian Air Force, a position which he held until the Anschluss in 1938. Luftwaffe On 15 March 1938, Löhr was transferred to the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) where he became commander of the German Air Force in Austria. By then he had been promoted to Lieutenant-General (Generalleutnant). He was commander of Luftflotte (Air Fleet) 4 in the East from May 1939 until June 1942. Luftflotte 4 carried out the bombing of Warsaw, Poland in September 1939 and of Belgrade, Yugoslavia in April 1941. Löhr had developed a plan to bomb Belgrad with incendiary bombs first, that the fires help the nightly second attack to find the targets.Manoschek, Walter: „Serbien ist judenfrei“. Militärische Besatzungspolitik und Judenvernichtung in Serbien 1941/42. Band 38 von Beiträge zur Militär- und Kriegsgeschichte. Oldenbourg, München 1995, ISBN 3-486-56137-5, p.18.Vogel, Detlef: Operation „Strafgericht“. Die rücksichtslose Bombardierung Belgrads durch die deutsche Luftwaffe am 6. April 1941. In: Ueberschär, Gerd; Wette, Wolfram (ed.): Kriegsverbrechen im 20. Jahrhundert. Primus, Darmstadt 2001, ISBN 3-89678-417-X, pp.303–308. This costs thousands of people their lives. He was promoted to Colonel General effective 3 May 1941. Löhr commanded the 12th Army from July 12, 1942 through to December 1942. From 1 January to 23 August 1943, Löhr was Commander-in-Chief of the South East. He was also the Commander-in-Chief of Army Group E from 1 January up to the end of the war. As Commander-in-Chief of Army Group E, Löhr oversaw the successful Dodecanese Campaign. He surrendered on 9 May 1945 to Yugoslav Partisans at Topolšica, Slovenia, Yugoslavia. Imprisonment, trial, and death Löhr was imprisoned by the Yugoslavs from 15 May 1945 to 26 February 1947. He was found guilty of war crimes, and executed on 26 February 1947. Specifically, Lohr was executed by firing squad in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, for his role as the commander of the Luftwaffe units involved in the Bombing of Belgrade in 1941. Portrayal in right wing publications In 2004 an abstract of his biography was published in the book Helden der Wehrmacht - Unsterbliche deutsche Soldaten of the Wehrmacht - Immortal German soldiers. This abstract whitewashes his role in the war crimes and depicts him as victim of unjust Allied victor's justice.Helden der Wehrmacht 2004, pp. 116-117. This book was classified as a far-right wing publication by Claudia Fröhlich and Horst-Alfred Heinrich.Fröhlich and Heinrich 2004, p. 134. Decorations * Iron Cross (1939) 1st and 2nd Classes *Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves ** Knight's Cross on 30 September 1939 as General der Flieger and chief of Luftflotte 4Scherzer 2007, p. 512. ** 705th Oak Leaves on 20 January 1945 as Generaloberst and commander-in-chief of Heeresgruppe E * Austro-Hungarian Order of Franz Joseph, Knight's Cross with War Decoration * Austro-Hungarian Military Merit Cross 3rd Class with War Decoration and Swords * Austro-Hungarian Bronze Military Merit Medal ("Signum Laudis") on the War Ribbon with Swords * Austro-Hungarian Silver Military Merit Medal ("Signum Laudis") on the War Ribbon with Swords * Austro-Hungarian Wound Medal with four stripes (four wounds) * Bavarian Military Merit Order 4th Class with Swords * Mentioned eleven times in the Wehrmachtbericht (12 April 1941, 23 April 1941, 8 August 1941, 11 October 1941, 12 October 1941, 19 May 1942, 20 May 1942, 30 May 1942, 26 June 1944, 19 January 1945 and 9 May 1945) ''Wehrmachtbericht'' references See also *Yugoslav People's Liberation War *Dodecanese Campaign References ;Citations ;Bibliography * Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000). Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 (in German). Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5. * * Schaulen, Fritjof (2004). Eichenlaubträger 1940 – 1945 Zeitgeschichte in Farbe II Ihlefeld - Primozic (in German). Selent, Germany: Pour le Mérite. ISBN 3-932381-21-1. * Scherzer, Veit (2007). Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives (in Germany). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2. * Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939–1945 Band 1, 1. September 1939 bis 31. Dezember 1941 (in German). München: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, 1985. ISBN 3-423-05944-3. * Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939–1945 Band 2, 1. Januar 1942 bis 31. Dezember 1943 (in German). München: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, 1985. ISBN 3-423-05944-3. * Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939–1945 Band 3, 1. Januar 1944 bis 9. Mai 1945 (in German). München: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, 1985. ISBN 3-423-05944-3. * Frey, Gerhard; Herrmann, Hajo: Helden der Wehrmacht - Unsterbliche deutsche Soldaten (in German). München, Germany: FZ-Verlag GmbH, 2004. ISBN 3-924309-53-1. External links * Category:1885 births Category:1947 deaths Category:People from Drobeta-Turnu Severin Category:Austrian Eastern Catholics Category:Austrian military personnel Category:Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I Category:Luftwaffe World War II generals Category:Recipients of the Iron Cross (1939) Category:Recipients of the Military Merit Medal (Austria-Hungary) Category:Recipients of the Military Merit Cross (Austria-Hungary) Category:Recipients of the Order of Franz Joseph Category:Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves Category:Military personnel referenced in the Wehrmachtbericht Category:Austrian people executed abroad Category:Executed military leaders Category:Austrian people convicted of war crimes Category:Austrian people executed by firing squad Category:People executed by Yugoslavia Category:Colonel generals of the Luftwaffe